Take College Courses In ‘Sexual Intelligence’ From Sexploratorium

A second-floor sex shop on Philadelphia’s historic hipster hangout of South Street has a plan to offer a new, “hands-on” approach to sex education for young adults with its two-year-old “Sexual Intelligence College Outreach Program,” which offers workshop course in such subjects as "Pleasure for Penis Owners (and Their Partners)," and "The Penis and Beyond: Sexual Wellness," according to story on the program this week by The Philadelphia Inquirer.  The classes are offered by Sexploratorium, which has been conducting the sex ed workshops at the University of Pennsylvania for nearly two decades. “Created by educator Ashley Robin, the Sexual Intelligence College Outreach Program or SICOP features highly requested workshops on Accessible Sex, Queering Up Sex, The Vagina and Beyond, and Embracing the Taboo, with other topics on the way, according to the Sexploratorium web site.  Sexploratorium owner Kali Morgan teaches many of the classes herself, and the Inquirer sat in on a workshop offered in a U. Penn English class taught by professor Davis Azzolina. "In a university setting, sexuality is spoken of in a very theoretical way," he told the paper. "It needs to be hands-on because that's what sexuality is. The class is provocative, but they do it in such a humane way.” One class in BDSM sexuality included , The Inquirer reported, an exercise in which “student volunteers stood in the corner and were tied up to demonstrate how easy it is to be in control of another person.” "Adolescence is the time of identity development, relationship formation, and emerging adulthood. We often leave out what feels good, including pleasure and satisfaction, and in thinking about intimacy, what feels good is what reinforces behavior in one's mind,” said Renata Arrington-Sanders, who serves on the board of directors of the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. “When we don't arm people appropriately with good, healthy sexual health tools, it makes them vulnerable and puts them at risk." The workshops run $300 each, and have already reached more than 100 students at Penn and other Philly-area universities, including Temple University and the College of New Jersey. More information on the workshops is available at this link.  Photo By HBS1908 / Wikimedia Commons